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ChuChai
Categories: Restaurants Vegetarian Restaurants Thai Vegetarian, Thai [Edit]
4088, Rue Saint-DenisMontreal, QC H2W 2M5
(514) 843-4194
- Hours:
Mon-Wed, Sun 5 pm - 10 pm
Thu-Sat 5 pm - 11 pm
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
47 reviews for ChuChai
Review Highlights
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"Trust me on this, get the sticky rice and the crispy duck." In 8 reviews -
"Stick to the fried dumplings and the love-bags." In 2 reviews -
"and the STICKY RICE is simply the best." In 6 reviews
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47 reviews in English
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Review from Brandt B.
2/6/2012
Pricey but soo delicious. Try the chilli basil duck, or the peanut tofu with crispy spinach.
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Review from Sabahat N.
Calgary, AB
10/5/2011
I am not vegetarian and I LOVED this restaurant! Their faux meat dishes were out of this world! I had gone with my equally carnivorous boyfriend and we couldnt believe how good this restaurant was!
Service was amazing, food was delicious, atmosphere was great.
They take your coats at the entrance too. Parking is a bit tricky however.Listed in: I left my heart in Montreal
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Review from Shirley D.
Montréal, QC
1/16/2012
One of the best vegetarian restaurants in montreal. Every dish I order is delicious especially the black pepper duck which taste exactly like duck! I'm no carnivore but I do love occasional meat, but this place? Their mock meat is just AS delicious as the real thing, if anything better! The lemongrass soups are quite good and the shrimp dishes are yummy as well. Everytime I go, I'm never disappointed. Though it is slightly pricey, that's fine. Food quality and service match the prices.
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Review from Janine T.
10/27/2011
I have been to ChuChai 5 times now. Trust me on this, get the sticky rice and the crispy duck! I would have given them 5 stars but the last time I was there, the food arrived cold and we asked them to reheat it. It came back to the table just as cold the second time.
The patio is a great people-watching spot in the summer plus it's bring your own wine which helps keep the cost down seeing as it is a tad overpriced. -
Review from Andreas D.
Montréal, QC
10/13/2011
Ok ok, what am I doing at an all vegetarian restaurant? I am not vegetarian, and I actually love getting my protein through a thick steak or nice piece of fish just as much as the next guy. That doesn't mean I can't appreciate vegetarian cuisine and even enjoy it. It might help that my girlfriend at the time I visited ChuChai was a hardcore vegetarian herself.
I don't necessarily remember all the food we ordered that evening, but the one item that always comes to mind when I think of ChuChai is the crispy duck! I know it has been mentioned in other reviews, but you can't go to this restaurant without trying it. It's that good. If you didn't know it was a vegetarian restaurant, you can almost assume that it's real duck!
The chef at ChuChai has really created one of the most unique dining experiences around by coming up with a menu that includes vegetarian versions of all sorts of "proteins" and actually making them tasty, as well as visually and texturally appealing! -
Review from Anu P.
3/17/2012
Came by for dinner today and noticed that it's closed. Unclear if it is permanent or not.
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Review from Howard H.
8/8/2011
Oh Chu Chai Chai? What's up? Why's that price so high?
Yes, I did. I went all the way back to 1983 to rock that Kajagoogoo reference. And yes, thank you, I sleep very well at night.
ChuChai makes some delicious vegetarian Thai food. That is still true... HOWEVER, the combination of an increasingly more pedestrian menu and a slightly ridiculous pricing level take away a lot of the goodness found in my previous premise.
Aside from the somewhat diminutive portions, you will be in vegvana at first bite of pretty much any of the curries here. The crispy duck is a culinary masterpiece - as an omnivore I have to profess preferring it to the, you know - "other" kind. Uh huh - really. Always try the chefs specials as they most are just that - truly special.
Service is reasonable - nothing to write home about / nothing to remove stars about. Getting there late in the evening seems to be a bad idea if you want to catch the staff at the top of their game.
Honestly - my only fault with the place is the drastic moves down the price quality curve.
Are the owners of ChuChai members of the elite group of supervillains that are fabled in song and story (aka my Yelp reviews) as Vegtortionists? Those that hold the veggie and vegan community price hostage for daring to follow their moral compass? Not yet, but another combo price hike/menu dulling will certain earn them a membership invite. -
Review from Ajay R.
9/9/2011 1 Check-in Here
Outside of some of my own veg dishes (I can assure you I'm in no way biased), this place is probably the best vegetarian meal I've had in a restaurant to date. It's not easy to do good creative veg dishes, but here, it was exceptional. You don't even think about the fact that you're not eating meat. We had the fried dumplings with sweet and spicy sauce and the "shrimp" hot and sour soup with lemon grass to start. Both excellent. For the mains we had the crispy duck with soy sauce and spinach, which I marveled over (probably the reason for this 5 star) and the spicy rice noodles with black mushrooms.
This place put veg dining on a whole new level for me. New York restaurants now have something to shoot for. -
Review from Heather O.
Scarborough, ON
1/24/2012
See my review of ChuChai (with beautiful photos) here:
http://alltheveganthin... -
Review from Sonya K.
Toronto, ON
11/20/2011
Oh Chu Chai.
You have always been so good to me. Since I was studying at McGill in 1998 to my most recent visit a few weeks ago. You always leave me licking my lips and wishing I was back in Montreal. And again, you left another carnivorous friend in shock by your "faux meat".
I have eaten a lot of faux meat and I usually am not very impressed. But chu chai does something very special and unique with theirs. If you have been disappointed by faux meat in the past, give this place a try before you shun it forever.
During the last visit, we ordered the duck which was Incredible. 10/10 Be sure to order this when you head there!
My friend said the duck was better than any "Real" duck she had had!
We also order the basil chicken which was fantastic as always and the pad thai.
Oh and the dumplings were fantastic!
This place is one of the reasons why I crave visits to Montreal. -
Review from Christy S.
1/19/2012
This was a pretty delicious meal, vegetarian or not. We were seated right away and the service was efficient. The decor was contemporary. I agree with a couple of other reviews - my meal was a little cold, but that didn't stop me from cleaning up my plate.
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Review from Monica B.
Toronto, ON
Updated - 1/19/2011 2 photos
After initially reviewing this place, I went to ChuChai a few more times and became very disappointed.
The food is good and consistent, and the staff remains kind. However, after being smacked with high-priced bills, I realized that the portions are too small for what you are paying for. I feel that this place is a trap for vegetarians since it's not always easy to get good veggie meals in many restaurants. Also, I've been experiencing very slow service here which can be rather annoying.
I gave ChuChai a few chances, but they failed me. There are other Thai restaurants that offer good food for reasonable prices; I rather go there instead.Listed in: Montreal, Asian Fusion
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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10/22/2010
You don't have to be a vegetarian/vegan in order to dine here. I'm neither one and loved it here. I… Read more »
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Review from Patricia S.
10/11/2011
Yep, solidly awesome! I had the crispy duck with spinach and a soy-based sauce, which seems to be the highlight among my fellow yelpers. Super flavorful and healthy!! Perfectly prepared and yes, indeed it is crispy. I still can't believe this place is vegetarian. I had a salad to start - green papaya, I believe.
Listed in: A New Yorker in Montreal
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Review from Joanne O.
Saint-Lambert, QC
11/16/2011
I have been to this restaurant over 20 times. The decor has changed over the years but the food seems to be consistently good. Authentic Thai flavours, mock meat that is surprising in flavour and texture. Try the crispy mushroom with basil, and the three spice beef, my mouth is watering! The curries are all delicious! My favourite is the sticky rice with peanut sauce!!! Don't arrive on the weekend without a reservation tho.
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Review from Erin G.
1/5/2011
After the boyfriend and I suffered serious disappointment on finding ChuChai closed on New Years Eve, we finally made it in on our last night in Toronto and we were more than pleased. As a 20-year vegetarian, I remember when fake meat didn't even exist, so it doesn't tend to get me as excited as some folks, but this fake meat is worth it. It's well constructed, flavorful, and they get the texture as close as wheat-gluttenly possible.
But it wasn't really the fake meat that got me going. They dishes were beautiful and thoughtfully prepared, from the chef's special appetizer of toasted coconut shreds, lime, peanut, and some magical sauce on a shiso leaf for bite-sized heaven to the ingenious breaded and fried seaweed shreds appetizer in a perfectly spicy sweet/hot sauce. I ordered the fried spinach on Yelp recommendation and we were shocked - how do they flash deep fry in so? And sweet with just a hint of pepper? Amazing. I have a hard time ordering when faced with so many options, but when we finally made our choice (duck with chilis and basil, chicken with spicy eggplant) I couldn't have asked for better - the vegetables were so thoughtfully cut and prepared, the sauces amazing.
Service was just fine - suiting and upper-scale casual place such as this. A a large group made the evening louder than I would have liked, but it couldn't have been avoided. DO keep in mind that ChuChai is NOT BYOB like it's little cousin Chuch, and you won't be disappointed. -
Review from H C.
Verdun, QC
1/24/2012
This is our family's go-to restaurant! We always get the crispy duck. We haven't been since we have had a baby - but I'm not sure its baby friendly?? Has anyone been with a baby?
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Review from Rian D.
Montréal, QC
9/20/2010
ChuChai is le p'tit mort of vegetarian/vegan dining.
The crispy mushrooms, dumplings in peanut sauce and say sauce crispy duck were mouthgasmic. I sh*t you not.
Omnivore, vegetarian, vegan... it doesn't matter it is effing fantastic.
Crap... I just drooled on my keyboard.
Tips: For dinner I would make a reservation, although when we (4) just showed up we actually lucked out and got a patio table, on a Friday no less. If you go to the fancy-ish Chuchai (restaurant side) you can BYOW. Chuch, the "express" side is more casual but no BYOW.
My only minor hiccup would be the cost vs. portion size. The small portions make it slightly pricey, and they could at least offer the mini steamed rice bowls for free at that price point.
Still it was worth every penny and great for a dinner out... more special occasion than on the regular so I don't go broke though.Listed in: Vegtastic Omnomnoms
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Review from Khanh L.
7/14/2010
Went there about five years ago
Just recently came back, cuz my cousin from Vancouver was visiting and she's vegeterian, so we went to ChuChai...
I'm quite impressed with this place, since everything is completely vegeterian, no meat no fish sauce whatsoever. That's a tall order if you're cooking thai food.
I'd say it is a bit on the sweet side, everything is slightly sweet, I mean Thai cooking has a lot of sugar but this is is slightly sweeter than usual. Nothing a little lime can't fix really.
we ordered pad thai, tofu with peanut sauce and fried spinach, mock penang beef, papaya salad, fried egg noodle which tasted like chow mein, and peanut sauce dumpling.
The flavor is distinctly Thai, which is impressive, since a lot of dishes have fish sauce or some sort of prawn paste in it, and frankly i doubt i'm not sure i detect those hints of flavors missing... they found a way to substitute without cutting out the taste.
The penang was the weakest, it lacked a bit, but the tofu with fried spinach is spot on. Being a meat eater it's not on top of my list but it's a nice place to go if you have a veggie friend, lol and we all have one or two of those :P -
Review from Nathalie R.
2/13/2011
One of the best places in Montreal to get mock meat dishes. It is incredibly expensive and I usually only end up here on special occasions but their food is unique and creative.
I usually stick to one of the curries, and the mock beef but have never had anything here that wasn't delicious.
Service is luck of the draw. I've been here before when we were told that we could not stay longer than 2 hours (which we wouldn't have but pointing that out as soon as we sit down is kinda ridiculous). If you're looking for delicious thai vegetarian cuisine this is your best bet in this city. -
Review from edwin h.
8/3/2009
Chu Chai is so fabulously good that it wholly deserves every star it receives.
Even forgetting that all food is vegetarian and the 'duck' or shrimp that you are eating is actually soy protein, every dish is so wonderfully and delicately executed that the fact no animal had to perish to accomplish this goodness just adds to the appeal of this place.
I could eat anything from their menu forever and never miss meat.
Unfortunately, we arrived too late for sit down service but the owners were so kind as to offer us take out instead and for which we were gleefully grateful.
Standouts: crispy 'duck' with a sweet soy glaze, tofu in a peanut dressing, shrimp curry and the three mushroom pad siew. (which is pretty much everything I ate at this meal)
I regret that its 600kms away from home but you can be sure I will eat at Chu Chai at every visit to Montreal from now on.
WONDERFUL! -
Review from Christian H.
Vancouver, BC
7/27/2009
Have you ever been to a restaurant that only serves vegetarian food. How about a vegetarian restaurant that serves duck, chicken, and other meat products. Well at Chu Chai, you are served your choice of meat products that are actually made from soy protein. I love meat, but the soy chicken, duck and other meats that I shared with friends were some of the best "meat" I have had. It was served with rice of your choice. It was delicious.
The serves was excellent and the restaurant was a calming deemed lighting atmosphere. I would recommend this experience to anyone going to Montreal.Listed in: Montreal Musts
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Review from Jessica R.
10/5/2009
A little more fancy than your average faux meat Asian place. Portions are small but not too small. Nothing they say is spicy is actually spicy.
Make sure to try the fried spinach....I know if sounds weird...and it is. Deep friend and lightly dusted in sugar, the spinach takes on a clear crystaline quality with a unique flavor.
We also enjoyed the Pad Ke Mao with "duck" while the red curry was somewhat bland.
All in all an excellent choice for vegetarians and quite flavorful. -
Review from MacRae O.
4/30/2010
Eight or nine years ago on a visit to Montreal, I discovered Chu Chai (then in its former location) by accident while wandering the neighborhoods. I was so thrilled to find an all veg restaurant serving fabulous food I dragged my traveling companion to meals there four or five times on our visit.
Last summer I returned to Montreal -- a little bit older, a little bit wiser, different traveling buddy -- and made a point of heading back to Chu Chai.
The restaurant had moved a lot farther up Rue St. Denis and is now more remote. Boo. The restaurant is now much smaller and the decor not nearly as subdued or appealing. Boo. Looking over the menu, I didn't see the one dish I had obsessed over on my former visit: vegetarian shrimp with crispy basil and sticky rice. Booooooo. Oh. Em. Gee. That shrimp was mouth watering, the basil deep fried into addictive crispy chips and dusted with sugar, and the sweet-ish sticky rice was super sticky and chewy and served in a banana leaf. No longer on the menu. Ordered a chicken and mixed veggies, husband ordered spicy beef. They were good, but they didn't come close to the former quality of the food. Totally disappointed. Prices were rather steep, too, even at lunch.
I wouldn't go out of my way on my next trip to Montreal to dine at Chu Chai, unfortunately.Listed in: Vegging Out, Asian Persuasion, Fake Out, Fit to Be Thai'd
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Review from Al A.
3/16/2010
I hate this place.
BYOB. Good service (for Montreal). Relatively bad food (seriously, you people think this is good fake meat?). The entire concept is ridiculous because it is hiding the inherent goodness in vegetables. Small rice portions. -
Review from Melissa F.
Toronto, ON
6/26/2010
Think about the ridiculous effort it takes to shape a shrimp and then put tiny orange grill marks on it to make it look like real meat.
This place is definitely unique and potentially the BEST vegetarian place IF, and ONLY IF, you miss the taste and texture of traditional meat.
This asian-fusion resto will definitely not dissapoint vegetarians OR meat lovers.
With , the standard different types of meat and an array of "asian" sauces they just mix and match such that it looks like a huge menu when really it's not.
The BYOW is a huge bonus and always a delight to have in a resto.
one of my faves but a little on the novelty side for me to be a regular here. -
Review from Luca M.
Montréal, QC
3/24/2010
A very fancy vegetarian restaurant with an award-winning chef and waiters in uniform. What is there not to like?
I am a meat eater and was bewildered by how much the "fake" meat products resembled reality. I found every dish to be delicious, although there are a few caveats.
The "award-winning appetizer", whichever name it goes by, consists of four leaves on which rest four small scoops of delicious veggie goodness. Yet as you chew down on the leafy morsel you begin to wonder whether your mouth's contents are worth $2.50 a bite. Stick to the fried dumplings and the love-bags. Whoever wrote the menu needs to get laid.
The portions are OK, although they tend toward the French (small) rather than the American side. But this is a good way to actually flavor everything that went into preparing the dish, and the chef is definitely worth his money.
If you are a meat-eater, pass on this place. If paper tablecloths feel cheap to you, pass. (I qualify under both statements).
But if you are a devout vegetablist ChuChai will be a really good find. -
Review from Heather T.
6/5/2010
I went to ChuChai with a vegan friend as it was highly recommended on Yelp. It really didn't disappoint! I eat meat but love vegetables too and the dishes at ChuCai were delicious!! We ordered pad thai, vegetarian green curry, and the "love bag" (deep fried little "bags" of vegetables). Everything tasted really good and authentic, especially the pad thai. I'm a noodle snob and I swear by it!
It's not healthy to eat meat all the time anyway, so all you meat lovers who want to try a vegetarian restaurant, this is the place to go to! -
Review from Kathy S.
3/7/2010
It's really not all that expensive for the ambiance and quality. If you're a vegetarian, this place allows you to basically get away with eating meat. They shape and flavor tofu here to look and taste exactly like different meats. It's quite the art! My good friend is vegetarian and she swears by this place. It's a vegetarians dream!
*everything here is vegetarian* Someone wrote about duck being on the menu.. it's fake!! See! Even they were duped! It's all tofu ;)
I love the sauces here too, very smooth and not too spicy :) Nice trendy location as well good for going for a walk afterwards.
(I never went to the bring your own wine part as the atmosphere didn't look as nice) -
Review from Asad Q.
Saint-Lazare, QC
1/8/2011
My wife and I love (and cook) thai food. If you like non-vegetarian thai you'll love this restaurant. The breaded crispy mushroom appetizer reminded me of general tao. Great Tom Yum. The duck not only tasted like duck but also looked like roast duck (how did they do this?). There's this amazing appetizer - something like 5 flavors finger food which is eaten wrapped in a leaf - delicious! Fair price. Great service. Only improvement would be better furnishings.
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Review from Bill D.
10/9/2010
My wife and I are vegetarians and we were looking forward to trying the "faux" meats on offer here. The menu features meatless duck, fish, chicken, and beef dishes. We tried a yellow curry beef dish and chicken with peanut sauce.
Long story short: nothing short of culinary alchemy going on here. The "beef" and "chicken" looked like the real thing, tasted like the real thing, and had the mouth feel of the respective meats. SImply astonishing. The sauces were deliciously tangy, but not too spicy (I guess you could ask for more if you wanted), and the service polite and efficient.
The best vegetarian restaurant I have ever been to, and there isn't even a close second. Bravo. We will really miss it when we return home!
The place is BYOB, but fortunately, there's an SAQ right across St. Denis. -
Review from Cangrl C.
3/13/2009
I came here once and was hooked!! definitely one of the best vegetarian place i've been to so far. the food was delicious but is wayyy over priced.
too bad i'm not in Mtl anymore or else it would be my regular hang out place. :(
4 star for the pricey dishes.. -
Review from Michelle A.
Toronto, ON
7/27/2010 1 Check-in Here
I've been to ChuChai the last two times I visited Montreal and I've had great experiences both times. The restaurant serves all vegetarian Thai food and has 'fake' duck, shrimp, beef, chicken, as well as plain vegetarian and tofu dishes. I'm not usually a fan of 'fake' meat - but decided to try out fake beef - I had a yellow curry dish with potatoes, beef and carrots with sticky rice. Very flavourful curry. The beef tasted a lot like beef to me (although it's been a while) - much more flavourful and a lot less dry than tofu. I've also tried a stirfry with bok choi and mushrooms - it was tasty, but not as exciting as the rest of the menu options. I had the fresh spring rolls both visits, which are nice and light - two big pieces that are perfect for sharing.
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Review from mark r.
Churchill, MB
12/14/2010
My favorite Montreal restaurant...The food is all great (I think I've tried just about everything). Most of the simulated 'meat' analogues are excellent...the mock shrimp is kind of 'off'...more like fishy gummybears...not terrible, just not 'convincing'. This alone is not enough to drop a star. GO!
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Review from Katrina v.
11/3/2010
Upscale vegetarian Asian joint. Service was so-so. Food was suuuper good. The fried mushroom appetizer is a must--it's like a vegetarian version of sweet & sour pork, not what I expected. Overall a solid spot..good ambiance for a date or something.
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Review from David H.
Montréal, QC
Updated - 2/16/2011
Upgraded to A-OK because I live around the corner and it's really convenient for take-out. Still too expensive, still inferior to "real" Thai restaurants (especially the noodles... the Pad Kee Mow in particular is not recognizable as such), still weird inside, but all the people I've encountered recently there are super nice.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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2/9/2010
Summary: great food, served cold and fast, with attitude, and therefore not worth the money.
My wife… Read more »
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Review from Kwoky L.
7/8/2009
Hate killing animals but couldn't resist the smell of succulent meat? You know who you are. At Chu Chai, there is no shame in trying because all the meats are completely vegetarian made from soy protein. The spicy duck with basil was excellent but the red/panang curry beef was to die for! The texture was so tender and succulent, I almost forgot it was vegetarian. The curry was well balanced, not overly spicy or oily. Simply delicious! You also have to try Lily's highly rated (by chefs) appetizer but I forgot the name. It's served in a leaf with toasted coconut, plum sauce and lime. It was truly amazing.
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Review from M Z.
Montréal, QC
9/14/2011
This is one of my fave restaurants in the city. I'm not even vegetarian. Only downside is that there are lot's of delish fried foods, and it get's a tad heavy. I love this place though. Def not cheap but great service, and yummy experience
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Review from Garett N.
8/17/2009
I'm more of a carnivore, but the vegetarian and fake meat dishes were actually really good. Great service at the restaurant too!
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Review from Kat T.
5/3/2009
Mock meat with all the flavour, texture and asian spices you could expect from a regular thai resto. As a vegetarian, you can go here and order ANYTHING off the menu. It's a real treat, if you are used to just the tofu section at the asian places. Peanut chicken is one of my faves. You can order off the menu or they will heat up some of items in the deli case. I don't remember the price difference between the two, but whatever is cheaper- go with that one.
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Review from Yelena Y.
6/13/2009
The food was pretty cheap and came out really quickly, delicious and of course vegetarian/mostly vegan. The dumplings are really good as well as the soups and the fried things on the stick they have behind the counter. Friendly staff and cool-looking interior. We were there on a weekend and a lot of places including this one closed pretty early. By about nine pm a lot of the good places including this one were done serving.
